Sole heir to once deeply troubled estate left by late father. Battled for 14 years to win control of his assets from her stepmother. Legal hurdles cleared in 2003 in time to catch boom in iron ore demand. Has potential to become much richer. In late 2007, after decades of promise, Rinehart's family company, Hancock Prospecting, shipped its first ton of iron ore as part of a joint venture with mining giant Rio Tinto; royalties from Rio Tinto expected to jump in the next year. Rinehart is now working on multiple mine developments on her vast expanse of undeveloped land to feed Chinese demand.